- Plunging Fuel Prices Could Create Problems for Ford, Says Product Chief – thedetroitbureau.com: With gas prices plunging below $3 a gallon, American motorists are shifting gears. High-mileage hybrids, compacts and battery cars are struggling, while pickups, SUVs and muscle cars are shooting out of showrooms. Despite their high profits, that’s not necessarily a good thing, cautions Ford’s global product chief.
- James Bond 007’s Aston Martin DB10 is a natural fit – Autocar: The Aston Martin DB10 is the latest James Bond car from the British brand – and the relationship feels as strong as ever.What’s your favourite James Bond car? Mine would have to be the Renault 11 taxi that Roger Moore’s 007 man-handled along the Peripherique in Paris during A View to a Kill. t’s a vehicle that deserves no mercy in an environment that offers none, and by the time Bond clambers out, the poor 11 is pretty much just a front grille, two seats, an engine and two driven wheels.
- Toyota widens airbag recalls after Japan scrapyard rupture – Automotive News: Toyota Motor widened a recall of its vehicles linked to defective airbags to include some of the same models in Japan and China, after one of the devices ruptured in a car at a scrapyard in its home country.
- Honda’s escalating airbag crisis frays half-century ties – Automotive News: Honda signaled a growing rift in its more than 50-year relationship with airbag maker Takata, as the automaker struggles to contain a crisis that’s killed five motorists in its cars.
- Chrysler expands airbag recall, but NHTSA calls it ‘insufficient’ – Automotive News: Chrysler said it will expand its recall of about 149,000 pickup trucks to include passenger-side airbag inflators made by supplier Takata, but hours after the company made the announcement, the nation’s top vehicle safety agency called the expansion…
- U.S. Fuel Economy Index Sees First Year-Over-Year Decline in Four Years – Wards: Decreasing fuel prices increased consumer interest in less fuel-efficient models.
- RUSSIA: Ford Sollers JV banks on Fiesta to boost sales – Just-auto: The Ford and JSC Sollers joint venture has started production of the Fiesta at its modernised plant at Naberezhnie Chelny in the Republic of Tatarstan.
- Euro Fuel-Economy, Emissions Tests Get Failing Grade – Wards: Alan Osborn . A transportation group promoting sustainable development claims the difference between real-world fuel consumption and automakers’ claims widened from 8% in 2001 to 31% in 2013 and without action is likely to exceed 50% by 2020.
- UK: Car sales up for 33rd consecutive month – Just-auto: New car registrations in the United Kingdom grew for the 33rd consecutive month in November, up 8% year on year to 172,327 units.
- Volkswagen to give more power to brands, regions – Reuters: Volkswagen will hand more power to brand managers and regional bosses, its labor leader told Reuters, as Europe’s biggest carmaker looks to address underperformance in markets such as the United States and Brazil.
- Toyota expands Takata air bag recall in Japan, China; cause unknown – Reuters: TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would call back 190,000 more vehicles, mostly in Japan, to replace potentially defective air bags made by Takata Corp , the latest in a long line of recalls for the embattled auto parts supplier.
- Market share of foreign luxury cars in S. Korea rises to 14 pct – Via Google News: Sales of imported cars increased 22.4 percent from a year earlier to 16,959 in November, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and…
- Toyota to recall 190,000 cars in Japan, China over Takata air bags – Reuters: TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp will recall 190,000 vehicles in Japan and China to replace potentially defective front passenger-side air bags made by Takata Corp, the latest in a long line of recalls for the embattled auto safety parts supplier.
- NHTSA says Chrysler’s expanded air bag recall falls short – Freep: Automaker offering to replace inflators in an estimated 149,150 older model pickup trucks
- Ford expands U.S. recall of Takata air bags – Reuters: (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co said it will expand a U.S. recall of vehicles with Takata Corp passenger-side air bags, becoming the latest carmaker to do so in response to the regulator’s request.
- DealBook: More Borrowers Fall Behind on Car Payments, Report Shows – NY Times: The credit and research firm Experian said that the balance of loans delinquent 60 days increased 27 percent, to roughly $4 billion, in the third quarter from the same period a year ago.
- Cars.com Chief Analyst: Tesla Has Hit Limit To Number Of People Who Will Buy Vehicles At Current Price Level – Yahoo:
- Cheap oil won’t help US automobile manufacturers: Bloomberg opinion – Via Google News: U.S. auto sales boomed on Black Friday as huge discounts pushed volumes to more than 17 million units on an annualized basis, the highest level in…
- Fuel Efficiency Doesn’t Keep on Trucking – Yahoo:
- Ferrari Unveils FXX K Hybrid Supercar That Boasts 1035 Horsepower – Via Google News: Ferrari will unveil the incredible FXX K, the luxury sports car company’s first hybrid supercar. The world-class automobile will be unveiled this weekend…
- Vancouver cops mock speeding Lamborghini driver by impounding $275K car, posting it on Twitter – Via Google News: A Vancouver Lamborghini dealership will be without one of its pricey sports cars for a week after the $275,000 automobile was impounded by police…
- ?This Is How Bad Self-Driving Cars Suck In The Rain – Via Google News: Hyundai recently held its Future Automobile Technology Competition in South Korea, pitting 12 teams against each other to see which autonomous…
